Students and activists alike are not satisfied or convinced by
the FBI’s response to a Nov. 23 New York Times article
revealing an internal FBI memo asking police agencies to scrutinize
demonstrations and fundraising activities of anti-war groups.
The FBI responded to the article by calling it a “media
misinterpretation.” The bureau also released the
bulletin itself, which the Times cited as evidence of FBI tracking
of anti-war protesters.
But undergraduate president Anica McKesey doesn’t believe
the FBI’s response.
“The document is just a cover-up, a way for the FBI to
make people feel like their rights are not infringed on,”
McKesey said.
“They feel like simply denying the article is enough, but
it’s not enough to placate the anger of the people. The
response (to the online petition) was brisk because people in the
U.S. see right through the propaganda of the Bush
administration,” said Scott Scheffer, the Los Angeles
coordinator for the International ANSWER coalition.
The International Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition
participated in the October anti-war rallies in San Francisco and
Washington, D.C., which were referred to in the memo as being
possibly “violent, destructive and disruptive.”
On Oct. 15, the FBI distributed a memo to local police
departments warning that demonstrators who are uncooperative with
law enforcement officials may engage in vandalism, harassment and
the use of homemade bombs and projectiles.
The Times also reported the FBI is conducting “a
coordinated, nationwide effort to collect intelligence regarding
demonstrations,” as well as targeting extremist elements.
As a response to the Times article, the FBI launched the
“FBI Response to Media Misinterpretation of its Law
Enforcement Sensitive Intelligence Bulletin” online two days
after the article was printed.Â
According to the document, the FBI is not collecting information
on peaceful demonstrators or targeting “civil
disobedience,” as stated in the Times. The response also
stated that the FBI is committed to protecting the constitutional
rights of all Americans, “including those who oppose the
current policies of the government.”
But to some activists, the FBI bulletin printed in the Times
meant exactly the opposite. It confirmed their beliefs of the
presence of governmental surveillance and the FBI’s denial of
civil liberties and rights.
“I’ve been in many demonstrations, so it’s not
surprising that (the) FBI is at rallies. People have to be wary for
security measures such as this because it can infringe on
people’s civil liberties,” McKesey said.
The bulletin wasn’t a surprise for ANSWER either.
“We feel like they’re using national security to
carry on espionage. We would have to be naive to be thinking they
weren’t carrying out surveillance,” Scheffer said.
But ANSWER is not afraid to continue protesting because
“its strength lies in its enormous public support,”
Scheffer said.Â